Every so often, people do surprise you in the oddest ways...
The fliers arrived three weeks ago. Some came over the fax machines of local churches, and others appeared mysteriously around town. Printed in bold was the heading "Westboro Baptist Church." No seeming cause for alarm. Sand Springs, population 18,500, is a Christian stronghold in the gently rolling hills of eastern Oklahoma.
But the message that followed was a rant against a 17-year-old Sand Springs resident named Michael Shackelford and his mother, Janice, the subjects of a recent Washington Post series examining Michael's struggles as a young gay man in the Bible Belt. The fliers posted a photo of Michael, called him a "doomed teenage fag" and announced that followers of Westboro Baptist in Topeka were on their way from Kansas to stage antigay protests in Sand Springs. [...] When Phelps announced that his group was coming to picket at several churches and the high school, fresh battle lines were drawn. To many here, homosexuality was a sin, but Michael Shackelford was their sinner. Just as the November election was reducing moral issues to red or blue, Sand Springs confronted subtler shades of truth. Janice Shackelford was terrified by the persecution of her son, then surprised by what happened next. "This Westboro outfit thought they could come to this town and break it apart," Janice said. "But it has brought the town together. It has opened some doors to talk."
[...] The week before the protest, [pastor Bill Eubanks of Cornerstone Church] announced from the pulpit that they were in the midst of a spiritual battle. He read parts of the flier aloud. "We are family," Eubanks said. "We are going to stand united as a family."
The response surprised Michael, who thought he would be cast out. People were being nice to him. Only a few weeks earlier he'd been called a "queer" at Arby's. Now there was a new menace in Sand Springs, and it was Fred Phelps....
You know, newspapers and magazines do these big pieces on various topics, and then you seldom hear what happens afterward. What difference did having all this information about them out in the public make to the people being profiled? This time, you get to see some of the aspects played out, and you get the impression that it may make some difference, down the line.
And in the category of slapping Phelps in the face (metaphorically speaking, of course, and rather lightly at that):
Narrowed plan passes: Discrimination ban limited to city hiring practices
By Tim Hrenchir
(Topeka, Kansas) Capital-Journal (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
Published Wednesday, November 17, 2004
After hearing comments from about 70 people, the Topeka City Council late Tuesday passed a diluted version of an ordinance designed to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. At about 11:30 p.m., council members voted 5-4 to make it illegal for the city to discriminate in hiring upon the basis of sexual orientation.
City attorney Brenden Long said the measure only affects the city of Topeka's hiring practices and not the public at large. He said Shawnee County commissioners passed a similar measure last year. [...] Tuesday's first 20 speakers all urged the council to reject the ordinance. Most who talked in the early stages were members of the Rev. Fred W. Phelps Sr.'s congregation at Westboro Baptist Church, which has conducted anti-homosexual picketing in Topeka and other cities since 1991.
In Kansas, of all places.
Almost gives one hope for humanity.
Almost.
Posted by iain at November 17, 2004 01:47 PM
